By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
LOCAL residents have been left perplexed by the potential removal of carpark spaces in exchange for more street tree canopies as part of Latrobe City Council’s Streetscape Strategy.
The proposal focuses on the enhancement of the visual, functional and environmental quality of streetscapes across the municipality, which would ultimately sacrifice select carparks within Traralgon, Morwell and Moe central business areas (CBD).
From the strategy’s draft, Traralgon will lose a total of 52 carparks in its CBD, with Morwell (13) and Moe (11) also succumbing some spaces in favour of a significant increase of trees along the main streets.
Council opened the proposed strategy for feedback from the community via a public survey following the September council meeting.
“Council understands there is some concern regarding the implications of the draft strategy,” a council spokesperson said.
“The final Streetscape Strategy has not been endorsed, and all community feedback will be considered when the Streetscapes Strategy is completed and presented to council for endorsement.”
Comments ran riot on a Facebook post from Traralgon’s community group page, with the consensus being Traralgon’s CBD specifically is already subjected to parking issues a majority of the time.
The still-in-development five-storey carpark on Grey Street will eventually alleviate that issue, however as stated by some online, not everyone is visiting the CBD for many hours, with some just looking to drop in and out.
Following an initial assessment of each town’s main streets and CBD area, key long-term cost saving opportunities were identified.
Tailored recommendations were then penned to improve the overall quality and appearance of public spaces, such as:
Increasing tree canopy;
Beautification of streetscapes;
Enhancing pedestrian and cyclist mobility;
Rationalisation of infrastructure;
Providing a consistent suite of street amenities across Latrobe City, and;
Efficient ongoing maintenance requirements.
The ongoing project is estimated to cost anywhere between $8.98 million and $9.73 million to revitalise all Latrobe City towns, according to the strategy’s draft.
Prior to the 1994 amalgamation of local governments to create Latrobe City Council, each town had already formed its own identity and unique design through its streetscapes.
The strategy argues that this has since created a lack of visual cohesion throughout the municipality, with that inconsistency requiring street maintenance teams to source and manage a wide variety of replacement parts and materials, thus increasing cost.
Outdated benches, bins, bollards and paving will be replaced with new, consistent street furniture, materials and paving types through the Streetscapes Strategy.
The attempt to beautify the region’s townships through environmental and presentational means modifying the existing line markings for parking bays, retaining all access to properties and side streets, and minimising modifications to existing kerbs to reduce construction costs.
Additionally, the strategy also presents an opportunity to enhance roundabouts across Latrobe City to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, proposing a hierarchy for roundabout designs to ensure a balanced approach between good urban design and manageable maintenance requirements.
The motion was carried unanimously at the September council meeting, with councillors Darren Howe (Tyers Ward), Adele Pugsley (Moe), Sharon Gibson (Newborough) and Tracie Lund (Morwell River) all vocal in their support of the strategy.
